Alverta Cooper, 96

October 25, 2012

Alverta (Wegener) Cooper passed away Oct. 16, 2012, at her home in Lincoln at age 96. She was born Oct. 1, 1916, in Cedar Creek, to Edward and Anna (Duryea) Wegener. The family moved to property near Merna when she was two, and she attended school (K-12) in Merna, graduating in 1934. Upon graduation she began teaching in rural schools in central Nebraska.
She moved with her family to Dunning in 1936, and married fellow-teacher Lloyd Cooper of Dunning in 1938. They had two sons, Gary and Nolan. She and her husband continued teaching in central and western Nebraska for many years, while taking summer-school classes.
They moved to northern California in 1957, where they both taught and continued their own college classes in evening and summer sessions.
She received her bachelorâ€™s degree from San Francisco State University in 1958, and returned with her husband to Nebraska that year. In 1960, she and her husband moved to Lincoln, where they lived for the rest of their lives.
She taught for the Lincoln Public Schools for 26 years, many of them at a lab school operated in conjunction with the University of Nebraska, where she also taught summer school. She continued taking evening classes at the University, earning her masters degree in 1968. Upon her retirement in 1985, she had taught for a total of 46 years.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Lloyd; her sister, Alaouise Tardy, and one son, Nolan. She is survived by her other son, Gary, and his wife, Lorette, of Pelham, NY, several cousins, nephews and nieces, and by her very special friends, Mark Brohman and his family of Lincoln, whose assistance and support allowed her to remain in her own home until the time of her death .
Funeral services were Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 at Lincoln Memorial Funeral Home. Entombment was at Lincoln Memorial Park Mausoleum.
In lieu of flowers memorials to the University of Nebraska Foundation, Alverta W. Cooper Fund, benefiting the Teachers College.